Strainers have been used for years to remove solid contaminants from liquid streams. In marine vessels and in industrial applications, strainers protect components located downstream from the strainer, such as pumps, heat exchangers, vessel engines and other components. The degree of clogging or blockage in the strainer has traditionally been measured by visual observation or an indirect method such as observation of rising temperature within the marine vessel engine.
As the degree of clogging or blockage increases in a strainer, problems such as inadequate flow through the strainer or solids carry-through occur and pumps, engines and other equipment can overheat or be damaged. Vessels include increasingly more numerous components that require strained liquid streams, and each component system typically includes its own dedicated strainer. Therefore, it has become undesirable and difficult to rely on traditional methods of strainer maintenance. Because of the increased time and effort required to maintain a multiple strainer system, visual inspections may not be performed at recommended or required intervals.
What is desired is a strainer clogging or blockage indicator that continuously monitors a plurality of strainers, operates reliably with constant speed devices, variable speed devices, or with a combination of both, and instantly alerts the operator of blockage within any one of (or all of) the connected strainers before damage occurs, reducing the need for visual inspection of individual strainers.